We made the decision to switch to raw last week. We tried to read as much as we could before we ran out of kibble, and then jumped into it. I've seen that some people have had success weaning into raw, and hopefully it wasn't a mistake to not do that.

We started feeding blue buffalo wilderness duck, and after not being totally happy with that, we tried canidae duck blend. We don't feed any fish because I have a severe allergy, and it's not worth the risk to have it in the house. Neither food really gave us what we wanted for both dogs.

We skipped dinner for both dogs the last night of the kibble. Their breakfast that morning was a little small since it was the end of the kibble and we weren't buying more, so they had almost a full "starve day" between kibble and raw. We started both dogs on raw chicken backs, because they couldn't gulp them down without chewing, and because of the high bone content.

Both dogs had been fed small amounts of raw chicken trimmings, so, they weren't completely new to the idea of raw. They started by licking the backs and within 10 minutes, had both started nibbling trying to figure out how to eat it. Once they started, they quickly figured it out and both ate fine.

The first day of poops were loose, but not horrible. We had an accident on the floor after the first night, that strangely had almost no smell! This was a big change from the stinky droppings we'd been getting from kibble.

We continued feeding backs for 3 days, when Dante started straining to poop. Isis, however, started with firm BMs, and has gotten more loose as time has gone on.

After the 3 days, we gave Dante his first chicken quarter. It took him a long time to eat it (mostly trying to figure out what to do with it). Isis continued with chicken backs. After eating the big quarter (a bit over 1lb), Dante ignored his meals for the next day. We were worried, but after reading some more, we felt a little better about it, assuming he is just self regulating.

Yesterday, Isis still hasn't gotten back to solid BMs, so we trimmed the fat and skin off of her back, following a suggestion from a raw feeding yahoo group. Dante was finally hungry, but we realized that his dinner got moved to the freezer, instead of being in the refrigerator . He didn't seem to be interested in the frozen quarter, but we were supposed to be having another dog over, and didn't want to wait for it to thaw (since we'd been told that frozen meat wouldn't hurt them at all). Again, following a suggestion from the raw feeding yahoo group, I sprinkled a dash of garlic powder over the chicken and he immediately got interested. After licking it and a little nibbling, he picked it up and started crunching it up like he normally does.

Both of our dogs have been very good chewers right from the start, giving 20-30 chews on a chicken back, and 30-40 on a quarter.

The straining to poop could very well be from the high bone content in the backs. I wouldn't give backs that often if it is causing problems. I know it varies from dog to dog but I find quarters have a much nicer meat to bone ratio for preventing stools from being too firm or too soft.

As for Isis, I hope her soft BM's clear up soon but do realize it is normal for that to happen during the transitional period. Removing the fat and skin is a good idea for helping firm up her stool, hopefully you see some improvement.

Sounds like you are getting good help from the yahoo raw feeding group, I joined it too when I started venturing into raw feeding as well. Great resource.

Yeah, Dante is just on quarters now, since he seems to have adjusted well. We're keeping Isis on backs until she starts having normal BMs.

Both dogs are also adjusting to a single feeding a day, instead of twice a day for kibble, but they both seem to actually do better that way (and it gives extra time for us to spend with them in the mornings, before going to work).

Isis was always very active, and we haven't really seen her activity change, but Dante has always been our lazy dog. He still calms down easily and will lay down/snuggle when given the chance, but when he is playing, he's much more agile... and spends more time airborne. She used to jump over things all the time (including him), but he would rarely jump. Now, he'll follow her in jumping over things, and we've seen him jump over her a couple times when they're playing.

Picked up another ~40lbs of chicken for the dogs this wekeend. Dante is continuing on chicken quarters, and Isis is switching back and forth between backs and quarters. It seems like Isis is adjusting to the new diet. Dante isn't to 100% normal BMs, but he isn't "detoxing" as much as Isis is still.

Fed a large meal last night with plans to skip a meal today. I'm not sure how much truth there is to it being "healthier" to do it this way, but our dogs seem to be pushing us this way anyway, so we'll try it out.

Last night, Dante ate an entire chicken breast and a large leg quarter (~3.75lbs total). Isis ate 3 small leg quarters (~2.5lbs total). Isis looked very full, but after laying down for 10-15 minutes, was up playing just like normal. She didn't have any issues with vomiting or anything that would make me think she ate too much, so I'm not too worried.

We are having a new issue though, in that Isis is pooping in her crate when left alone. Does the digestion speed of raw make her bathroom timing different, or is this just her being a bratty teen? We put the divider in her crate this morning to give her less space for it.

For info, we've been feeding her around 7:00pm, and we take her out at ~8:00pm, and then again around 11:30pm, before we go to bed. She hasn't been doing any "business" at 11:30, but when we get up in the morning, she's left a mess in her crate.

After a few more days of Isis having loose stools, the green tripe I ordered came in. I picked up tripett canned green tripe from amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002EOW4E/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details).

I mixed some chopped chicken liver in with the trip and fed it to them before their regular meal. They both went wild over it and pretty much finished eating before I'd stood up. I hoped the tripe would make a difference with Isis, and man did it ever. She went from completely liquid stools that she had trouble controlling, to nicely formed "whole style" stools. That huge change came after feeding just half a can of the tripe before her normal meal (two chicken quarters). She has now had 3 days of normal stools, after just 1 can!

I don't think I've ever been this excited about poop...

The loose stools as well as the messes in the crate may be due to having too much to eat @ night. Personally I don't do the gorge and fast, my dogs are very active during the day and I want to be sure if i'm taking the time and effort to prepare their raw meals- they're getting the most nutrition out of it! Excess or loose stools means somethings up.

I believe Solid Gold sells a green tripe canned food. I also think the green tripe maintains it's nutrition most (like all foods) when it's raw. There are a few places online that sell it raw and ship it frozen.

The dogs both lead me to want to feed them the way I do. Our dogs are currently crated during the day, and very active in the evening. I won't get too into my beliefs on nutrition timing, other than to say that I believe for both dogs and humans, it's completely irrelevant.

The fact that Isis went from completely loose stools to completely normal stools with 1 starve day and the introduction of the tripe (and no other changes to amount of food or timing) makes me think there was something missing from her digestion process. Some sites are quick to blame vaccinations and anti-biotics, but I don't want to look at that as anything other than speculation at the moment.

I don't know why it didn't click that if it was canned it would be cooked, but you're right. I am trying to get in contact with people who own personal food animals to see if I can get the stomach fresh, but until then, I'll look into the frozen.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Since my last update, both dogs have been doing VERY good on the raw diet. I've introduced beef kidney and beef liver as organ meats. I've also started doing frozen "baseballs" of pork. They are boneless chunks of pork that I cut from a whole pork shoulder. Switching between these and the chicken has helped even out the amount of bone they're getting.

I've also fed them some bone in pork ribs, which they loved, but finding good prices on pork is much more difficult than chicken. I will say, Dante LOVES the pork, and will eat that before his chicken if it's a mixed meal. He's not a big fan of liver though, and always needs a little encouragement to eat that.

Isis eats everything we give her.

Since starting raw, Isis has maintained her weight of 34lbs, eating ~1lb 4oz of meat/bone per day, feeding 6 days a week. Dante is up 1.2lbs, putting him at 54.6lbs, eating ~3lbs of meat/bone per day, feeding 6 days a week. Dante is still slightly under weight, and Isis is around her goal weight. We are going to reduce the feed a little, to try to slowly bring Isis down to 33lbs and make sure Dante doesn't gain weight to fast, although he's still looking like he could comfortably get to 55lbs without getting overweight.

Glad to hear the good news! I stock up on pork ribs when they go on sale for 99 cent a lb which happens approximately every few months around here.

That's a lot of food for Dante even considering that you're trying to put some weight on him. Typically it is suggested to feed 3-4% of their desired body weight when trying to bulk up (if I'm remembering correctly). My 50 lb boy eats 1 lb/day and a 3+ lb meal for him is what I consider a gorge day. That even seems like a lot for Isis but if it's maintaining her weight then I guess it's what works for her. Kudos to you for getting them variety and watching their weight in the process, you seem to be doing a great job so far!

I have backed off on the feedings a bit and have noticed that Dante spends a lot more time laying down now, than he did when he had more food. I'm not sure if he's conserving energy now, or if he was just very active when he was loaded up with food.

The other reason I've backed them off is because we are feeding more meat in the meal, averaging about 10% bone, instead of the 20-30% bone we were on with all chicken, when we were having BM issues with Isis.

This week, we introduced beef, which has gone very well. Both dogs greatly enjoyed it, and neither had any negative affects from it!

Have your temps been warmer lately as well? I'm not discounting that his energy level may have dropped in relation to his feeding, but it's also worth remembering that sibes tend to slow down around this time of year and eat less also due to rising temps.

Honestly, the temps have been up and down lately. His changes don't seem to be weather related.

I wouldn't even say he has a change in energy levels, because he's just as happy to get up and run, and just as fast as he's been since we've switched him to raw, he just tends to calm down faster and want to lay down once the activity is over.

We'll be weighing them again this week, to see if there have been any chances since we slightly reduced their intake.

We have reduced our pups intake again, trying to bring it more in tune with what people are saying they should be eating. So far, they seem to be taking to it ok. With less food, Dante seems to be interested in eating a lot faster. Isis couldn't possibly eat it any faster than she already does.

We're currently feeding Isis ~9oz per day and Dante ~15oz per day, 6 days a week. They get their organs the day after their starve day and get bone 2-3 times per week from chicken mostly, while "meaty meals" are mostly pork.

We're paying around .99/lb for chickens/chicken parts, paid .59/lb for beef kidney, got beef liver for free, and between 1.25/lb - 2.19/lb for pork.

We've been putting out feelers to try to get older pigs, goats, or cows that aren't great for human consumption. No luck so far, but I'm hoping that as they come up, people will think of us.

After 5 or so weeks on reduced size meals, both dogs are looking at little thin and constantly acting hungry. We're bumping their intake up a little bit more, to find a happy medium.

That seems like very little food. Most days we do 20oz for everyone but mickey. Mickey needs about 29oz. When we do just grounds its 18and 27.

Yeah, it seems we went from slightly overfeeding to slightly underfeeding. We are watching them pretty closely though, so I'm not really worried that it's going to hurt them in the long run.